Watch mechanism



Patented Oct. 23, 1923.

4GEORGE P. MOHR, 0F VICTOR, IOWA.

WATCH MECHANISM.-

Application filed November 28, 1922. Serial No. 603,759.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE P. Morin, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Victor, county of Iowa, and State of Iowa, have invent-ed a certain new and useful lVatch Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in kwatch and clock mechanism.. Hitherto it has been necessary for a jeweler to entirely disassemble a watch or clock when he wishes to remove the main spring for the purpose of replacement or repairs.' This requires a considerable. amount of f time and is also quite a disadvantage due to the fact that ywhen the various mechanisms which have been delicately adjusted have beeny torn down, it is hard to replace the same and get itin a perfect working condition, all of whichy requires a considerable length of time and skill.

Itis, therefore, the object of my inven-v tion to provide in a watch or clock mechanism improved means for mounting the main spring Within the watch casing vor frame 1n such a manner that the main spring may be easily and quickly removed from the casing without removing or demounting the delicately adjusted mechanism of the watch or clock. K y Y n More specifically it is theobject of my invention to so construct the casing or the mechanism bearing framey of the watch such a manner that the main spring barrel may be inserted through the edge of the said frame and when inserted, secured in position by placing the. pinion through the saidv barrel and the frame forsupporting the same, the pinion being soarranged that when secured in position the various mechanisms of the watch or clock will be placed in o erative relationwith each other. l

y invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of they various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a back View of a segmental portiony of oneform of a watch showing the-y manner in which my improved mechanism is yipplied thereto. c c y lgure 2y is anenlarged detail sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1. Figure is al back view' of a watch showing one of the frame plates removed and part of the winding mechanism to illustrate certain mechanism of the interior construction.

Figure 4 is an edge view of the watch casing showing the opening whichV is provided for the purpose of receiving the spring barrel, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view of the shaft for supporting the spring barrel and the gear mechanism thereby. l

In the drawingsUI have illustrated the mannerl in which my device may be applied to one particular form of a watch. It will be obvious that the same general principle may be applied to watch constructions of other makes or to clocks Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The numeral 10 indicates the casing or frame ofa watch, the said casing having in its edge an opening 11 which is nearest the point where the spring barrel is mounted and is of such size that the spring barrel may be freely passed through it. The frame 1() is provided with front and backy plates 12 and 13, the front plate beingl provided with a recess 14 which is designed to receivey a gear 15. The gear 15 is .invmesh with a second gear` 16 which is provided with y.a sleeve 17 extending into the cup portion `18 of the plate 12, the said sleeve 1f? being rof` tatably mounted inr the cup portion.. Thel inner edgeof the sleeve 17 is provided with av set of beveled teeth 19V designed to co-act with a, gear 20.*; n N l This gear is mounted onv the winding stem 21, as'illustrated in Figure 2. The said iigure does not show the gear 2O in actual mesh with thegear l19 due tothe fact that the front portion of the; gear 19 has been 'cut awa-y on the section line. y i

The sleeve 17 is secured in position by means of an inner sleeve 22 having an annular flange 23 on its outer end designed to rest in a suitable groove in the wheel 16. The sleeve 22 is secured in position by means of a set screw 2li.k By this arrangement is willv be seen that rotary movement may be imparted to the gear 15 through the stem 21 and the co-acting gear members 20 and 19` through the sleeve 17 and the gear 16.

Between the plates 12'k andv 13 opposite.

the gwwheel 15 Yis a spring. drum 25, this drum being formed.. with a cylindrical portion and an end portion 26', the oppositeenfl of the cylindrical portion being provided with an end member 2T which is detacliably mounted therein.

iivotally mounted in the center of the end memo is a sleeve 28 having and an enlarged porlim to which one end of the main spring 30 is secured, the opposite end of the spring be fr secured to the cylindrical portion 25. ihc sleeve is ot' a length equal to the length ot the cylindrical member and so arranged that its end is even with the outer face of the sleeve 2S, the said sleeve being rotatably mounted in said ends. rlhe said sleeve is provided with a centrally located square opening 31 dcsigned to receive a square shaft 32, the baci: end of the shaft beingprovided with a round or pinion portion 3S designed to be mounted in suitable bearing in the plate 1S. The opposite end of the shaft is provided with a round bearing which is slightly larger in diameter than the shaft 32 and designed to be rotatably mounted in bearings in the plate 12.

.le front end of the portion 32 is provided with a square portion designed to enter a square opening in the gear wheel 15, the said gear being secured in position on the shaft by means of a set Screw 8G, the head of which is even with the inner face of thel gear 15.

By this arrangement it will be seen that by removing the set screw 235 and the gear 15 that the shaft 32 may be pulled ont of the sleeve 28 through the baci; side of the case. Then the shaft 32 has been removed the spring barrel may then be moved laterally through the opening 11 of the case, after which the spring may be removed by simply removing the head 27. fter the necessary repairs have been made the barrel may then again be replaced until the opening 31 is in alineinent with the openings ot the plates 12 and 13 after which the shaft 32v may be placed into position, the gear 15 replaced and secured in position by the screw 36.

To prevent the gear 19 from moving out of the recess 1li and carrying with it the shaft. 32, l have placed a bar 3? across the back face of the gear 15 and over the head of the screw 3C. having one end of the bar 3T screwed to the liange 23 of the sleeve 22 by means of screws 3S. The opposite end of the bar 37 is secured to the frame of the easin@` by means of a screw 39.

y the construction of the sleeve 22 being pivotally mounted in the sleeve 17 and upon the screw 2e it will be seen that it is not necessary to `remove the screws 3S when it is desired to remove the shaft 32, the said shaft 32 being removed by simply removing the screw 39 and swinging the bar 37 to position illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1. In order to do this it might. be neccssary to slightly loosen the screw 24 which is easily accomplished by placing a. screw driver through the opening Ll() of the bar 37, ai'tcr which the gear 15 may be removed as before described.

It is obvious that various ways may be provided for retainingr the shaft 32 against coming out of position in the sleeve 28 without departing from the spirit of this invention. The cylindrical portion 25 of the barrel is provided with a gear L11 which is designed to mesh with the pinion wheel 42 of the shaft 423. This shaft 43 is provided with a second gear which operates the various mechanisms of the watch. The gear 15 is held against movement in one direction by means of a pawl. lVhcn the watch .is being wound through the stem 21, as before described, the gear 15 will rotate the sleeve 2S and the enlarged portion 29 causing the spring 30 to be wound up. The barrel 25 will then be rotated in the opposite direction, driving the gear 11 and its co-acting gears as before described.

By this arrangement it will be seen that I have provided an improvement in the construction of watches which will enable the jeweler to easily and quickly remove the spring barrel without interfering with the delicately adjusted mechanism and which may be accomplished in a. few minutes time thereby providing a considerable saving in the jewelers time and expense in having the watch repaired.

I claim as my invention:

1. A watch comprising a frame7 front and back plates spaced apart and parallel to each other, a shaft rotatively mounted in said plates, a spring barrel mounted to rotate about the axial center of said shaft, a watch mechanism, means for driving the watch mechanism by the rotation ot' said barrel, a spring within said barrel having one end connected thereto, means vfor detachably connecting said spring in operative relation with said shaftl a winding mechanism detachably secured to said shaft` said shaft being capable of longitudinal movement to disconnect it from the mechanism operatively connected therewith, the said shaft also being adapted to support the spring barrel between said plates, and further so arranged that the barrel may be slidably removed from between the said plate when the shaft has been moved.

2. A watch mechanism comprising a frame having spaced front and back plates` said frame being provided with an opening, a spring barrel slidably mounted between said plates and inserted through said opening. a shaft pivotally mounted in said plates and extending centrally through said barrel, a spring within said barrel having one end connected thereto. means for detachably securing the opposite end of said spring in ing provided with a central longitudinal opening, a shaft pivotally mounted through one of said end plates designed to rest in said longitudinal opening and to be pivotally connected in the opposite end plate, a gear detachably secured to the outer end of said shaft and means for detachably securing said shaft Within said sleeve, said shaft being slidably and non-rotatably mounted in said sleeve and a gear mechanism driven from said drum.

Des Moines, Iowa, November 17, 1922.

GEORGE P. MOHR. 

